Short Fiction · Character

Proskuróf

A beaming official and something of an artist, who loves his country with a strange love even as his craving to expose the truth keeps degrading his career.

supporting

Also known as the beaming Proskuróf, Afanásy Ivánovitch Proskuróf, Afanásy Ivánovitch

First appearance: short fiction

As a supporting figure in Short Fiction, Proskuróf is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

An examining magistrate appointed by His Excellency to suppress the criminal company; described as honest, energetic, and ruining horses in his pursuit.

In the storyIV: A Voltairian of SiberiaOpen this moment free

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Proskuróf tells stories of pre-reform inspectors and satraps with the sympathetic touch of a true artist, painting his country in unattractive colors while loving it deeply. Offered a fair position in Russia, he refuses, unable to imagine himself anywhere but among the familiar types he both mocks and cherishes. When the narrator recounts the Hollow adventure, Proskuróf drinks it in and immediately regrets the one face not remembered, revealing the investigator's hunger beneath the beaming storyteller.

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Character Web

13 connections

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Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Named associates and servants
Village community figures
Diverse community and historical allusions

+8 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

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In the story

Proskuróf appears across 6 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

IV: A Voltairian of Siberia
An examining magistrate appointed by His Excellency to suppress the criminal company; described as honest, energetic, and ruining horses in his pursuit.
V: The Exterminator
The examining magistrate, nicknamed 'The Exterminator,' arrives urgently at the station to investigate a murder case.
VI: Yevséyitch
The beaming Proskuróf; an official investigating the robbery, impatient and morally outraged by the peasants' conditional cooperation.
VII: The Inspector
Leads the investigation, introduces the narrator, and confronts Bezrýlof about the prisoner.
VIII: “Iván, Aged Thirty-Eight Years”
The examiner conducting the inquest, initially comical but now serious and dignified.
IX: The Investigation Continued
The examiner, who reacts angrily to Bezrýlof's congratulations about a temporary appointment, withdrawing his hand and denying he is a 'calf'.

Chapter companion notes

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